BEVERLY, Mass. – Bates College volleyball split a pair of matches in its first day of competition in the MIT Invitational with a 3-0 win over Suffolk University and a 3-0 loss to Endicott College on Friday night at Endicott's MacDonald Gymnasium.

In their first match of the evening, the Bobcats (5-1) extended their win streak to five with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-15) victory over the Rams (2-7) before the host Gulls (5-3) presented Bates with its first setback of the year, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16).

Next, Bates continues play at the MIT Invitational tomorrow with a road match at MIT at 11 a.m. prior to a contest with DeSales University at 1 p.m.

Match 1: Bates 3, Suffolk 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-15)

Junior Mary Deneen (Windsor, Conn.) notched a match-high 11 kills as Bates beat Suffolk 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-15) for its fourth straight sweep.

Deneen hit .450 to lead the Bobcats while sophomore Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) posted 10 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the year.

Junior Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.) paced Bates with 11 digs, and sophomore Hannah Tardie (Orange, Calif.) compiled 13 assists, eight digs, and five service aces.

In the first set, Suffolk took a 13-9 lead before Bates won seven of the next eight points to pull ahead at 16-14. The Bobcats used that 7-1 spurt as part of a 15-3 run to gain an edge as large as 24-16 before closing out the frame.

The Bobcats tallied seven straight points midway through the second set to grab a 15-7 advantage holding an edge of at least four points the rest of the game on the way to a 25-17 set win. Bates closed out the match with a 25-15 victory in the final set, finishing the frame on a 13-5 run.

The Rams registered four players with double-figure digs – Yabriela Perez (18), Krista Iacobucci (13), Katie Marshall (13), and Caitlyn Matatall (12).

Match 2: Endicott 3, Bates 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16)

Bates fell to Endicott in its second match of the evening 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16) as the hosts won their second contest of the day.

McGrath paced the Bobcats with 18 digs and six kills, Schepel and classmate Nicole Cueli (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) charted 14 and 13 digs respectively, and first-year Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) dished out 15 assists.

For the Gulls, Hayley Knapp landed a match-high 12 kills, Tori McIntyre recorded 12 digs and 10 kills, and Jessica Petrucci had 15 digs. Alleigh Vandemerkt led all players with 37 assists.

Neither side held a lead larger than three points in the first set until Endicott broke a 16-16 tie with a 9-2 set-ending run for the 25-18 victory.

The Bobcats rebounded early in the second frame, claiming a 16-12 edge midway through the set. The Gulls responded with an 8-2 run to capture a 20-17 advantage and held on for a 25-22 victory.

The hosts built a 19-10 lead in the final game, and although the Bobcats countered with five straight points to pull within 19-15, the Gulls closed the set with a 6-1 spurt.